MAC Attack: Clinical Correlates of Complex Infection Among Patients With and Without Cancer.

Background: In 2007 the American Thoracic Society (ATS) released guidelines on management of complex (MAC), an increasingly common respiratory organism worldwide. Determining when this represents a true respiratory pathogen remains controversial and becomes increasingly challenging in patients with cancer. This study aims to 1) describe the phenotype that exists among cancer patients with MAC colonization and MAC pulmonary infection when compared to non-cancer patients; 2) assess whether cancer, symptoms, and radiographs, were associated with the decision to treat MAC pulmonary infection with antibiotics.